Electrode holder



March 1945- I J. E. OPGEN ORTH 2,372,113

ELECTRODE HOLDER Filed Aug. 28,1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F1g Z Ill March 1945- J. E. OPGENORTH 2,37

ELECTRODE HOLDER Filed Aug. 28, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 20, 1945 no PM or F-[CE ELECTRODE HOLDER John .Edward iopgcnorth, Qakland; Calif- AppIicatiOnAuguSt ZB, 1943', Serial No; 500,345 5 ,Claimss (01. 219-8) Theinvention relates to .an. electrode holder andparticularly to the type designed to be held in the hand of the operator in performingaiweld ing operation:

An object, of the invention: isto provide a,v holder" of the character: described. in which the electrode; or welding rod may be held'inany desired' angular position on: the holder without the necessity ofbending or otherwise deforming thev rod.-

Another-objectof'ithe inventionis to providea holder of; the character" described in whi,ch the position of the ,rod-g'may be changed without requiring the removal'ofj-the rod'from theholderor-any loosening, and:r,etightening operations or entailing" any impairment of the gripupon the rod'whentheadjustment has been made.-

A'xfurther'object ofthe invention is to provide a holder of the-character; described'which' will. be" completely insulated and protectedeto prevent the, accumulationof slag oil-the exterior of the holder or entry; thereof to: the: interior Working partsof the-holder:

Attiit further object of; thev invention is to providea holder which will be extremely rugged,

in construction, and will jpermittthe almost complete: useo-r burning of the the'holder parts and insulation.

.Yetanother objectot'the, invention is to provide a holder-Which willpermit the quick and" easy lnsertionor removal of the welding-rod and which may be used with a wide range of different sizesof rod."

The-invention possesses other" objects andffea tures of;advantag e; some of which with the foregoing, will beset ,forth' in thefollowing descrip tion of the preferred form of the invention which is" illustrated, in the drawings forming and accompanying-part of the specification. It :is 'to be understood, however, that variations'in the showingimadeby the said drawings and description maybe adopted'withinthe scope of the invention-as set forth in the claims,

Referring-to said drawingsr Figure- 1 is aside view ofitheholder'with the rods. without injuringv housing in section'and with a welding-rod operatively held therein.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 but-showing' the parts inlongitudinal sectionand with the welding rod released:

Figure 3'is a plan-viewer theholder as shown in- Figure 1 but-with parts-removed-and shown in section, as on-the line 3'-3of"Figure--1.

Figure 4 is a bottom" view of one of thewelding rod gripping jaws.

Fl' urei5 isapIanview of 'aportion of the complementary rod 'grippingjaw of the holder.-

Figure: 6 is1a transverse: sectional ,view' of ther holder takenon the line- 66-' of Figure 2.-

Figure 1 '7 is a longitudinal sectional view taken 7 through-a holder of a modified: form;

Figure 8 is a: longitudinal} sectional view of elusive; comprisesa set of ijaws I2and l3 between whiclia welding rodr ,A- is arrangedto-be gripped .1 The jaw I2"'is relatively stationary andis fixedly mounted on a support M; extending" long-itu dinally-of theholder, while the jaw I3 is -arrangedfor movement relative; to the-jaw I2;and-; iscarried-by a'n'arm IS- which is-pivoted 'suclras by a: pin I Ttoposts; l 8-preferably-formed asextensions of:the support-I4; Movement ofthejaw- |3about-the pivot lT'is-toand-ifromthejaw I2 so that the rod A may-be gripped; orreleased between'the'jaws:

J aw- I 3 'inaddition to being movable aboutthe pivot IT ismountedfonrotation on-thearm I8" about an axis at'rightangles tothe Y axis of pivot I1; the jaw I3being supportedforsuch rotation,

by means ofa stud! 9 which is preferably rotatabIein'the-armand-fixedto the-body 2| of the jaw. The under sideof-thebody ZI is-formed with a pluralityofgrooves 22 and 23in which the welding-rod-is arranged to be seated and held in,

place-when the jaws are-brought together. Since the-jaw l3 isrotatable thelatter may be moved so-as-topresent the grooves and'correspondingly the-weldingrod in various rotational relationships-with respect-to the longitudinal axis of the holder; andprefera-bly thecoactingfaceof the jaw- I2 isiorrnedwvith a plurality of intersecting grooves-ornotches 20in which the weldingrod may beseatedin different-rotational positions of thejaw I3, the; intersecting point of the notches 24-'preferably being such-that when the jaws are brought together with the rod'therebetween the axis-ofrotation of 'the jawl3; will generally coincide -with1such point; Inthls manner'the welding-rodmaybe held in the grooves ornotches of both jawsand thus with a, relatively small) force; inserted; to hold? the ,jawstogether, the rod,

will be firmly held in desired position. In this connection it will be noted that the grooves 24 in the fixed jaw are relatively numerous so that the rod may be held in a considerable number of different angular relations. As will be clear from Figure 4 the grooves 22 and 23 in the under side of the movable jaw are of difierent size so as to readily accommodate difierent diameters of welding rod. v

Movement of the arm 16 for the purpose of clamping the rod in position between the jaws andfor holding the jaws apart to permit the gripping or releasing of the rod, is here shown arranged to be efiected by means of a lever 26 which is pivotally connected to one end 21 of the arm. The lever 26 is formed with arms 28 and 29 and in such relation that when the arm 29 is depressed to the position shown in Figure 1 the jaw l3 will have moved to the jaw 12, and conversely when the arm 29 is moved to the elevated position shown in Figure 2 the jaw l3 will be released for positioning away from jaw I2. Arm 28 is designed for coaction with a relatively fixed part of the holder or as here shown such arm is designed to engage a spring 3| fixed to the support 14, the arm being moved to an overcenter position so as to resiliently lock the movable jaw in a gripping position. Likewise the resilient engagement of the arm 28 and the spring 3| will cause the welding rod to be clamped in position with a resilient force thus relieving the holder of strain and avoiding possible mutilation of the rod.

Electrical connection is made with the support M by means of an electric conductor 32, and in order to insulate such support and the conductor the holder is provided with a casing 33 of insulating material and as will be clear from the drawings the casing is formed with an opening 33 for the accommodation of the lever 26. The casing is also cut away adjacent the movable jaw including a portion of arm 16, and preferably a covering 33 is provided on the arm 16 and a shell 31 is enclosed about the jaw body 2 I. As will be clear from Figure 2 the shell 31 depends below the body 21 so that not only the movable jaw but the fixed jaw will be enclosed with an insulation when the jaws are held together. Furthermore as an important feature of my invention a shell 38 of copper or the like is fitted around the insulation shell 31 in-order that no welding slag can accumulate on the shell 31 or between the jaws within the holder during the welding operation. Periorations 39 and 41 are formed in the shells 31 and 38 in registration with the grooves 22 and 23 so as to permit the welding rod to be inserted in position in the movable jaw. Preferably an insulation covering 42 is provided around the lever arm 29 which is disposed exteriorly of casing 33. For operatively positioning a welding rod in the holder, the lever 26 is positioned as in Figure 2 for releasing the jaw l3, and a welding rod is inserted within such jaw through the opento reposition or change the angle of the rod, it is merely necessary to rotate the jaw 13 to desired position, the spring 3| again permitting the raising of the arm l6 without the necessity of releasing lever 26. To remove the rod, it is simply necessary to raise the arm 29 to release the rod from engagement with the fixed jaw and then extract the rod through the opening 39 or 4| as the case may be. In case the rod is allowed to remain in the holder until the former is consumed up to the opening in the copper shell 38, the stub may be extracted by releasing the jaw l3 and then simply tilting the holder so as to allow the stub to drop out, it being noted in this connection that the openings 39 and 4| are made slightly larger than the rods so as to avoid any binding. It is important to note that due to the provision of the copper shell 38, not only is the insulation 31 protected from the entry of slag, but the rod may be allowed to be consumed up to the copper shell without danger of impairing the insulation.

In Figures '7 and 11 inclusive I have shown a somewhat modified form of the invention. In this embodiment the welding rod is held in any one of the notches 43 in the jaw 44 by a movable but non-rotatable cooperating jaw 43. The latter is supported by a spring arm 41 which is anchored in the base portion 48 of a longitudinally extending support 49, in the head portion of which is provided the fixed jaw. The movable jaw 43 is guided for movement to and from the fixed jaw in a slot 51 formed in the support 49. The spring mounting of the jaw 46 urges such jaw towards the jaw 44 and in this manner when a welding rod is seated in one of the notches 43, the jaw 46 will engage the rod and hold it against the fixed jaw. Preferably a sleeve 52 is slidably fitted over the support 49 so that it may be moved longitudinally thereon. An opening 53 in the sleeve is engaged by the spring arm 41 so that by moving the sleeve longitudinally the jaw 46 may be caused to bear against the rod with greater or lesser force. As will be understood, when the ing 39 or 41 dependingon the diameter of the 4 rod. The rod is inserted so that its rear end will substantially abut the closed side of the shell 31, and it will be noted that the rod will be thus held in a supported position although the jaws are still separated. The lever arm 25 is then'depressed to force the jaws together and with the rod firmly gripped and held in the opposed grooves and notches, the arm 28 being advanced overcenter to lock the parts in position. The jaw 13 is then rotated against the resistance of spring 3| to place the rod in desired angular relation and in r the appropriate notch 24. Should it be desired sleeve 52 is retracted to a rear position such as shown in dotted lines in Figure '7 the tension on the rod is at a minimum, thus permitting the jaw 46 to be raised by the operator so as to allow for the ready extraction of the rod or its repositioning into another set of notches 43 as may j be desired.

Preferably the portion of the jaw 45 arranged to engage the rod is formed V-shaped so as to permit a more eifective engagement with the rod and hold it in position against the fixed jaw 44. As in the case of the first described embodiment a tube 51 of insulating material is provided to enclose the support 43 and the arm 41 and serve as a handle for the holder. The tube 5'! is formed with openings 55 through which an appropriate tool may be inserted for moving the sleeve 52. Insulation strips 38 and 59 are provided on the exposed sides of the jaws 44 and 46 respectively, and preferably a shell 32 of copper is provided around the insulation is! for the reason previously explained.

I claim:

1. In a welding electrode holder, an elongated support, a jaw fixedly carried on said support and having a plurality of radially arranged and extending notches formed for the reception of the side of an electrode rod, an arm pivotally carried by said support, a jaw rotatably mounted on said arm for movement to and from said fixed jaw and having grooves arranged radially of the axis of rotation of the jaw and formed for supporting said rod in opposed relation to the notches in said fixed jaw, and insulating shield disposed over and around and depending from said second jaw, having openings therein in substantial alignment with said grooves, the axis of rotation of said second jaw being in substantial registration with the radial center of the grooves in said fixed jaw and whereby upon rotation of said second jaw, the rod disposed in the grooves thereof may be positioned to engage in difierent radial notches of the fixed jaw a leverconnected to said arm, and a spring secured to said support arranged for engagement by said lever to resiliently force said jaws together and resiliently lock said jaws in operative relation, whereby said jaws are completely covered by said shield.

2. In a welding electrode holder, an elongated support, a jaw fixedly carried on said support and having a plurality of radially arranged and extending notches formed for the reception of the side of an electrode rod, an arm pivotally carried by said support, a jaw rotatably mounted on said arm for movement to and from said fixed jaw and having grooves arranged radially of the axis of rotation of the jaw and formed for supporting said rod in opposed relation to the notches in said fixed jaw, the axis of rotation of said second jaw being in substantial registration with the radial center of the grooves in said fixed jaw and whereby upon rotation of said second jaw, the rod disposed in the grooves thereof may be positioned to engage in different radial notches of the fixed jaw a lever connected to said arm,

a spring secured to said support arranged for engagement by said lever to resiliently force said jaws together and resiliently lock said jaws in operative relation, an electrical conductor connected to said support, a casing of insulating material enclosing said support, a covering of insulation material on said arm, a. shell of insulating material enclosing said rotatable jaw, having openings in substantial alignment with said grooves, and having an extension positioned to enclose said fixed jaw when the jaws are operatively engaged with the electrode clamp therebetween, and a shell of copper enclosing said insulating shell.

3. In a welding electrode holder, a support, a pair of jaws carried thereby and with one of the jaws arranged for movement relative to the other to receive and clamp a welding rod therebetween, a shell of insulating material fixed to and enclosing one of said jaws and having an imperforate extension positioned to enclose the other jaw when the two'jaws are held together with the electrode clamped therebetween.

4. In a welding electrode holder, a support, a pair of jaws carried thereby and with one of the jaws arranged for movement relative to the other to receive and clamp a welding rod therebetween, a shell of copper fixed to and enclosing one of said jaws and having an extension positioned to enclose the other jaw and substantially engage said support when the two jaws are held together with the electrode clamped therebetween.

5. In a welding electrode holder, a support, a fixed jaw carried thereon, an arm pivotally carried on said support, a jaw carried by said arm for movement to and from said fixed jaw, a cam pivotally attached to said arm, a resilient pressure member bearing against said cam to urge said arm into engaged or disengaged position relative to said fixed jaw, and an imperforate shield disposed around and depending from said second jaw arranged to substantially engage said support and enclose said fixed jaw when the jaws are in engaged position.

JOHN EDWARD OPGENORTH. 

